Even though I have had the pleasure of working for five days and nights with A R Rahman (when he went by the name of ‘Dilip’) while he set my poems to music in his Chennai studio or performed my poetry with the late Musa Gulam Jath, India’s greatest Jodiya Pawa (double flute) player or with numerous other traditional, folk and contemporary musicians such as those on the santoor, the sambal and the table, I have never been as charged and energised as when performing with two gifted young Pune-based musicians Deepak Bhanuse, the flautist, and Majed Aziz, the guitarist.
Deepak Bhanuse is a talented Hindustani classical flautist who is presently under the tutelage of the renowned Pt Keshav Ginde. He has an MA in music (flute) and is a regular public performer in Mumbai, Goa, Bengaluru and works at the JW Marriot. He has been awarded the Pandit Pannalal Ghosh Award (2009) from the Amulya Jyoti Sanstha, Pune and received the Venuvidya Shisha Vrutti ( 2009)from the same organisation. More recently, he performed in Kalauatavam in Singapore and has made a number of sorties out into the big wide world, enthralling listeners with his magical flute.
Majid Aziz S started playing live in the early 2000s at the Pune Festival. He draws his inspiration from world music, movies, books, places, birds, trees, mountains, blue skies, food and eyes. Detailed guitar pieces created by him are highlighted by notes as clear as motifs or fine inlay work carefully laid on marble castles. Jazz and Spanish music inspires him the most . He is not a ‘note-by-note’ cover player but loves to improvise, write his own pieces or adapts and fuses a theme/melody.
I first got to know Deepak when we jammed together, poetry and flute, to celebrate the opening of a watercolour show by the accomplished Rajendra Poudel at Gyaan Adab. On a later occasion, we performed at Monalisa Kalagram and he even composed the music track for my film The World In A Story. It was difficult to imagine this serious, disciplined and intense musician adapting so effortlessly to the rhythms of poetry in English. But he did that and more and gave to our performance a rich resonance.
Then Majed Aziz joined us and brought his playfulness to the experience and helped in blending three outrageously different forms of creative expression. He built incredibly beautiful harmonies around us and between us, adding his specialness to the birth of Mystic, India’s first poetry-music band.
As beautiful and fulfilling as that may sound, it was never easy going with the two musicians never failing to turn up late for rehearsals then stubbornly pulling musical punches or subtly disagreeing and sailing off on their own…my poetry dangling in mid-air, somewhere between. But then when ruffled feathers settled down and they tuned into each other’s energies…gently including me, Mystic began to take shape and happen.
After a number of performances of the Into The Blue Beyond concert and a solitary Singing The Sea show, we’ve fallen silent. Deepak has been busy amazing audiences and Majed reaching out to people … whilst I – waiting for the band to reunite with renewed energy. Hope to be back again on stage sooner or later even for just the sheer pleasure of performing with these two real musicians from two different worlds…
Randhir Khare is an awardwinning writer, teacher, artist and storyteller who has mentored a whole generation of creative talent. He is Director of Gyaan Adab, Pune’s Premier Cultural Centre. Randhir Khare writes every Wednesday for Pune365.
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